Definition
现身说法 is a four-character idiom originally from Buddhism, where it meant 'the Buddha appears in a human body to expound the dharma.' In modern Chinese it means to explain or persuade others by drawing on your own personal experience — 'speaking from experience' as a living example. You use it when someone shares a story of what happened to them in order to teach a lesson, warn others, or prove a point. It functions as a verb phrase and does not split apart.
idiom
to use one's own experience as an example to explain or persuade
v.p.
(Buddhist original sense) to appear in human form and expound the dharma
Examples
- 现身说法，。Tā zài jiǎngzuò zhōng xiàn shēn shuì, fēnxiǎng le zìjǐ dāngnián shībài de jiàoxùn.In the lecture, he spoke from personal experience and shared the lessons from his own failure.
- 现身说法，。Lǎo Zhāng xiàn shēn shuì, yòng zìjǐ de jīnglì gàosu niánqīng rén bù néng tāntú xiǎo piányi.Old Zhang used his own experience to tell young people not to be greedy for small gains.
- 现身说法，。Zhè běn shū xiàn shēn shuì, zuòzhě yǐ qīnshēn jīnglì jiǎngshù le chuàngyè de suāntiánkǔlà.This book draws on the author's firsthand experience to describe the ups and downs of starting a business.
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